ShawnBeDead
by Michael2
Summary: When a photo of a naked underage girl goes viral, SVU investigates to determine if there was a rape.
1. Chapter 1

_In the criminal justice system,_ _sexually based offenses are considered especially heinous._ _  
_ _In New York City_ _, the dedicated detectives who investigate these vicious felonies are members_ _of an elite squad known as the Special Victims Unit._ _These are_ _their_ _stories_ _._

ooooooo

The couches, tables, sofas, and plush carpet-covered floor make the living room look cozy. It is a place where residents and visitors alike can feel at home. Easter decorations hang from the wall.

Sitting on a black leather sofa, Noah Porter-Benson looks at the colored plastic Easter eggs he gathered this morning.

"Did you like the Easter Egg hunt, Noah?" asks his mother, Olivia Benson.

"Yesh," replies the young boy.

"So you heading back to New York today?" asks an older, teenage boy.

"Yeah," answers Benson. "It's gonna be a four hour trip."

She and Noah accepted an invitation to attend Easter weekend with Calvin Arliss and his grandparents in Vermont. Olivia had quite a history with the family, as she, due to unusual circumstances, had been Calvin's foster guardian for a few months a few years ago. He had only been nine years old then.

The teenage boy hands Olivia a Nikon Coolpix B500 digital camera. "care to take another picture before you guys go?" he asks.

"Sure," replies Olivia.

Calvin lies on the floor and with arms and legs bent. "I'm doing this for this hashtag ShawnBeDead."

"Shawn be what?"

"ShawnBeDead. It is just people posing on the floor, pretending to be dead. A lot of people on Twitter and InstaGram have done it. My grandma and grandpa say I'm too young for an iPhone or something like but, they let me upload pictures into that computer over there."

Olivia glances at a Lenovo desktop computer sitting in the corner of the living room. "Under their supervision, of course."

"Yeah."

Olivia presses the button to take the picture.

"I'm going to take one of Noah as well," she says.

Oooooooooo

About two hundred sixty miles away, a woman in her early thirties had prepared a quick lunch for her family. The lunch consists of a quick appetizer of mushrooms stuffed with crab meat and bacon bits.

She calls for her children, and they all come except one. She calls out the name of her daughter.

She opens a door leading to her daughter's bedroom. The bedroom looks like a typical teenage girl's bedroom, with a bed and a shelf and posters of singers popular with today's youth.

But the mother pays little attention to the layout of the room.

Her attention is on her daughter's bleeding wrists.


	2. Chapter 2

Detective Sergeant Odafin Tutuola enters the squad room of the Manhattan Special Victims Unit, a unit in the New York City Police Department that handles investigations of sex crimes in Manhattan. The squad room looks pretty much the same with its desk and chairs and file cabinets. It is the Monday after Easter.

"How was your trip to Vermont?" Fin asks a dark-haired woman in a suit who had just entered the squad room.

"You should ask Noah," replies Detective Lieutenant Olivia Benson. "He definitely liked it."

"Calvin doing okay."

"Yeah, doing the typical teenage boy stuff now."

"Well, it's back to work for us." There had been a few Easter weekends which the SVU squad worked. At least he and the other detectives were able to have a relaxing weekend.

A telephone on one of the desks rings. Fin picks it up. "Sergeant Tutuola here. What?..Roosevelt Island….we'll send some detectives over."

Ooooooooo

MARCH MEDICAL CENTER

ROOSEVELT ISLAND, MANHATTAN

MONDAY, APRIL 17

Detectives Amanda Rollins and Sonny Carisi from the Special Victims Unit arrive at the March Medical Center on Roosevelt Island in Manhattan. It was a long, roundabout drive, crossing the Queensboro Bridge in an unmarked Ford Crown Victoria and then navigating the streets of Queens to access the bridge to Roosevelt Island.

The exterior of the hospital looks pretty much the same as the other buildings on the island. It had twenty stories. The two detectives go through one of the doors and into the hospital's interior. The interior looks pretty much the same as the interiors of other hospitals in New York, with white walls lit by overhead fluorescent lamps. Doctors and nurses in their blue outfits, and patients and visitors in various types of clothes, walk- or are wheeled- along the corridors.

The two detectives ask where their patient is, and a nurse at a nurses' station tells them where to go.

On the fourth floor, they enter one of the rooms. It looks like a typical hospital room, with beds that can be closed with curtains. A Sony television is mounted on the wall above, showing some daytime talk show.

"You're here," says a woman who appears to be in her early thirties.

The two detectives introduce themselves. They then look at a girl lying in the bed. She has dark skin and tightly-curled black hair. She appears to be in her mid-teens, and is clad in a hospital gown. Rollins and Carisi notice that her right wrist is clad in a bandage.

"Are you Shawna?" asks Detective Rollins.

"Yes," answers the teenage girl, who makes eye contact with the detective.

"We were told you slit your wrist. Did you slit your wrist?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"I got a picture on my phone," answers Shawna. "It was a picture of me, naked from the bottom down."

"Did you pose naked?" asks Rollins.

"No," cries Shawna. "I never posed naked. I don't remember doing this. I saw this…I saw this..I think it's called jizz on my thighs."

The two detectives feel sad. They are certain what the girl would say next.

"I think I was raped," Shawna says, crying. Tears flow down her cheeks. "I…I was a virgin. I wanted to save myself for the man I would marry, the man whom I'd start a family. I..I'm not pure."

Amanda Rollins holds Shawna's hand. "We'll take a look," she says to the teenage girl in a comforting tone. "Can you tell us more? Do you have any idea where this picture was taken?"

"No," answers Shawna. "I know it wasn't at home."

"Listen, Shawna. We will take a look. We will find out what happened. Is there any indication of when the picture might have been taken?"

Shawna brings up the memory of the picture that appeared on her iPhone. "It looks like it was taken in the past year. I can't remember."

"Have you been to parties or social gatherings? Anyplace where you might have gotten drugged or roofied?"

"I've been out with my friends, even a few house parties. Oh, God."

"Could you be more specific?" asks Detective Carisi. "Do you have a better idea of where and when you might have been drugged?"

"No," replies the teenage girl.

"We can arrange a rape exam," says Detective Rollins. "Right here in this hospital. I can't promise anything, though."

Oooooooo

About two hours later, Shawna sees a woman in her fifties with dark skin and brown hair enter the room. She is accompanied by a woman in her later twenties.

"I'm Dr. Melinda Warner," the woman says, extending her hand. "I'm the medical examiner with the Special Victims' Unit. I'll be in charge of your exam."

"I'm glad you're here," says a dark haired man who appears in his early forties. "I got off work early when I heard Shawna might have been raped. I remember when she was the flower girl when I married her mother. How could anyone do this to her?"

"We'll do what we can." She looks at Shawna. "Can you stand up and walk?" asks the medical examiner.

"Yes," replies Shawna, standing up.

Dr. Warner and the nurse lead the girl through the hospital corridors and into one of the examination rooms. Shawna sits on the exam table, clad in a gown.

"Just lay still," says Dr. Warner. "I will start with some questions. Have you ever had intercourse before this alleged rape?"

"No."

"Do you regularly engage in any strenuous physical activity?"

Oooooooooo

SPECIAL VICTIMS UNIT SQUAD ROOM

16TH PRECINCT

NEW YORK CITY POLICE DEPARTMENT

MANHATTAN, NEW YORK

"There was rupture of the hymen, which is a sign of previous intercourse," Dr. Warner says to detectives of the Special Victims Unit. "But there are other things can cause rupture of the hymen."

"Like gymnastics," says Fin.

Even as Dr. Warner was performing her medical examination, the SVU pulled as many files as they could on Shawna Cowell and her family. Among other things, they learned that Shawna had been doing gymnastics since she was eight years old.

"So a broken hymen does not prove rape in her case," says Lieutenant Benson.

She looks at a picture of the gymnastics team from Shawna's school. Olivia notices that half of the girls on the team are black, like Shawna.

"This is the picture we managed to retrieve from Shawna's phone," says Sergeant Tutuola. The picture is clearly that of Shawna, naked from the waist down. A sweater covers the upper part of her body. Her eyes are closed.

"That looks like semen on her thighs," says Carisi.

"It could be fake," suggests Rollins. "This could have been some prank."

"Taking a naked picture of a girl without consent is a crime, whether it's a prank or to sell pictures to creeps and perverts," replies Benson. "We're going to have to start talking to her friends, beginning with the ones on the gymnastics team." She looks at the names on one of the gymnasts. "I think I'll be questioning this one here personally. There might be complications due to her family. Besides, I don't go out in the field as often as I used to."

Ooooooooo

YATES RESIDENCE

ROOSEVELT ISLAND, MANHATTAN

 _I wish there was a direct bridge between Manhattan Island and Roosevelt Island,_ thinks Lieutenant Olivia Benson.

She steps off on the sixteenth floor of the luxury high-rise condominium. She was let in by the doorman after showing her badge. She looks at the doors to the condo units until she finds the door with the number matching that on her note. She presses the button for the doorbell.

"This is the police," she says.

A dark-skinned boy opens the door and sees Olivia's badge. The SVU lieutenant recognizes him as Desmond Yates, from her review of the file on the Yates family before she headed to Roosevelt Island.

"Are you here for my dad?" asks Desmond. "I think he's still at the office."

"Actually, I was wondering if I can talk to your sister," replies Benson. "Do you know where she is?"

"Des'ree!" calls out the twelve-year-old boy.

A dark-skinned girl, clad in a blouse and sweat pants walks out to the living room. She has tightly-curled black hair, and appears to be sixteen years old, which matches the age Benson had read on her file.

"Desiree Yates," says Benson.

"Yes?" replies the teenage girl.

"Lieutenant Olivia Benson, NYPD. I'd like to ask a few questions."

"Come on in."

Benson looks around the living room. It must be at least twice the size of her entire apartment. Sofas are set back against the wall, and there is a lazy chair. A flat screen television is mounted against the wall opposite the sofa.

A door in the back of the living room leads to a balcony. Even from the living room, the lieutenant can see the Queensboro Bridge, and the skyline of Manhattan.

"You must be impressed about our place," says Desiree. "I know cops don't make as much as us."

"So you're on the gymnastics team, right?"

"I've been doing this for eight years, but you probably knew that before you came to talk to me. I know cops always check on backgrounds before they talk to witnesses. Des- the other Des, my brother-and I we were always athletic. Daddy encouraged us to be active and exercise and play sports because he never got to do any of this his whole life."

Benson looks at a photograph on the table. It shows Desiree, about twelve years old, clad in a gymnastics outfit, holding a trophy. Her parents are with her, but only her mother stands. Her father sits in a wheelchair, his right arm folded and his right hand clenched in a fist. The detective lieutenant had met Desiree's father before on more than one occasion, as he had been New York County's district attorney for the past six years or so.

"I started volunteering in this nursing center across the bridge in Queens," says Desiree. "I want to be a gymnast, maybe go into the Olympics and win some of them gold medals, but I might also want to be a nurse. I want to help people like my daddy."

"I'd like to talk about Shawna," says Benson.

"My momma told me about Shawna," says the teenage girl. "She tried to kill herself. I mean, I knew her since I started gymnastics. I had dinner with her and her momma and stepdad and her brothers and sisters. I'm just glad she didn't die."

"Do you have any idea why she would kill herself?"

"I ..there's a lot of pressure in gymnastics. We practice for hours to be at the top of our game. I feel completely drained after practice. But for her to try to kill herself?"

"Did you go out with Shawna? Attend parties?"

"Yeah. I remember after middle school graduation like three years ago, Shawna and I and some friends had a pizza party, our folks all paid for it."

"What about parties where there were no folks around? Just kids?"

Desiree hesitates to answer. "Yes, we had those. Nothing happened. I mean, Shawna's a virgin and all, saving herself for marriage. She wouldn't get in that kind of trouble."

"Did you ever see her leave a party alone?"

"We keep each other safe. We know better. We always keep an eye on each other. We never let anyone leave a party alone, especially if it's with some boy."

"Did you ever find her with, say, her clothes messy? Like someone quickly dressed her"

"Wait a minute," says Desiree. "Are you saying she …she was raped? That's…that's impossible!"

"We're trying to find out. If there's anything you know."

Oooooooo

BAYSIDE, QUEENS

"I'm just so glad you two came to join us," says a brown-haired woman sitting on the couch in a living room in a house in the Bayside neighborhood of Queens.

Detectives Amanda Rollins and Sonny Carisi had come to question Natalie Stovic, Shawna Cowell's gymnastics coach, after interviewing a few gymnasts at Roosevelt Island. The house looks like a typical suburban single family home that is common in Queens.

"You must be wondering why I live with my parents," says the coach. "Housing prices are expensive in New York, and I'm not going to commute all the way from the other end of Long Island just to have my own place."

"Miss Stovic, have you heard about Shawna Cowell?" asks Carisi.

"Her mom called me and told me what happened. I always expect my girls to do their best, to go all in or not at all. But I can't believe she'd try to kill herself over having to practice hard."

"Did any of the girls have boyfriends?"

"Some of them, yeah. They never told me of any problems with them. And Shawna didn't have a boyfriend."

"Are you aware of any problems between your girls? Or your girls and the other students?"

"No. There are always these petty rivalries, of course. But it's basically the typical teenage girl stuff. I remember what that was like even though it was twelve years ago for me. I can't imagine Shawna would try to kill herself over that sort of thing."

"Did you ever come across any sexually explicit pictures of Shawna?" asks Rollins.

"No," replies Stovic. "Come to think of it, I remember Shawna mentioning saving herself for marriage or something. But maybe she had these kind of pictures taken. Sort of a look but can't touch sort of thing, you know. I knew this girl I grew up with who stayed a virgin and sent naked pictures of herself to boys. She got married last year, to the man who actually got to touch."

Later, the two detectives walk outside the Stovic residence onto the streets of Bayside, towards the Ford Crown Victoria.

"I can tell that she like you, Sonny," says Rollins.

"Must be the charm," replies the detective.

Oooooooooooooo

The next day, Fin gets a call.

"A man claims that he saw Shawna's picture and sent it to her," says the sergeant.


	3. Chapter 3

RELIABLE TRUCK REPAIR AND SUPPLY

RED HOOK, BROOKLYN

TUESDAY, APRIL 18

Having passed through the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel, Detectives Amanda Rollins and Sonny Carisi arrive in the Red Hook neighborhood is Brooklyn. They arrive at the address. There is a large building inside a large lot. Various brands of semi-trucks from Kenwood to Peterbilt are parked, many with hoods open and mechanics tinkering with the powerful engines.

Rollins and Carisi step out of the gray Ford Crown Victoria and walk inside Reliable Truck Repair and Supply, flashing their badges.

"Hi there," says a dark-skinned man in a polo short and billed cap.

"You Jamal Reed?" asks Carisi.

"Yeah, I just got off work."

They all walk to the street.

"Distributing child porn is against the law," says Rollins.

"Child porn?" asks the mechanic, suddenly alarmed at the accusation.

"Shawna Cowell is only sixteen years old. Now, we could read you your rights and take you to the station, or you could explain why you decided to send her the naked picture of herself."

"Okay, listen. I knew Shawna for a couple of years," says Jamal. "She's in gymnastics with my sister Kendl. She even been to our place for dinner once or twice."

"How did you get that picture of her?" asks Carisi.

"Well, it's like this. There's this hashtag on InstaGram, ShawnBeDead. During my break me and some guys from work took a picture of me, posing dead. I even put used motor oil on my clothes to fake blood. I posted the picture on my InstaGram and Twitter."

"And how does that lead to you finding that picture of Shawna?"

"Well, after posting it, I checked out the hashtag and saw pictures of people from all over the world posing dead. It was then that I saw a picture of this girl who I thought was posing dead while naked. I recognized her as Shawna. Then I wondered if her boyfriend took that picture and then either leaked it online, or if someone hacked into his phone or Shawna's phone.."

"Shawna has a boyfriend?" asks Rollins.

"I don't know," replies Jamal. "I don't know her that well; Kendl knows her better. I'm just guessing about how a naked picture of her ended up online. So I decided to send the picture to her- anonymously of course."

"Anonymously?" asks Carisi.

"Yeah, I have an anonymous account as well. I wanted to at least let Shawna know that her boyfriend or whoever leaked a naked picture of her online. And then when I heard that she tried to kill herself, I called you guys. If she didn't give permission for that picture…"

"Thank you for your time," Detective Carisi says to Jamal.

The two detectives walk back to the Ford Crown Victoria.

"ShawnBeDead. Shawna," says Carisi. "Must be a connection."

Ooooooooooo

SPECIAL VICTIMS UNIT SQUAD ROOM

16TH PRECINCT

NEW YORK CITY POLICE DEPARTMENT

MANHATTAN, NEW YORK

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 19

"Paul Sciuto from cyber crimes gave us help in this," says Sergeant Odafin Tutuola. "The earliest appearance of the hashtag ShawnBeDead was in February. It really took off about two weeks ago, when some rapper named Shawn from Compton in California, near Los Angeles, posed dead under that hashtag on his InstaGram and Twitter accounts. His six million followers decided to copy it, and today there are hundreds of post today with that hashtag."

"Yeah, I've seen it," says Lieutenant Benson. "When was the picture first posted?"

"The first time Shawna's picture was posted under the hashtag ShawnBeDead was on February 26th, weeks before Shawn the rapper posted his picture under the hashtag. Mr. Sciuto is working with the FBI to identify where the picture came from."

The detectives look at the notes and the pictures on the table, laid out to illustrate what Fin was saying.

"It still has to be someone with access to Shawna," says Detective Amanda Rollins. "One of her classmates or even one of the girls on the gymnastics team."

"We do know that the picture was taken on or before February 26th," says Detective Sonny Carisi. "I think we need to talk to Shawna again."

Ooooo

COWELL RESIDENCE

ROOSEVELT ISLAND, MANHATTAN

"Are you all right?" asks Detective Amanda Rollins.

"I'm feeling better," replies Shawna Cowell.

The two detectives speak with the teenage girl in the dining room of the Cowell residence. The dining room looks the same as most dining room, with a table and some chairs. A kitchen with typical household kitchen equipment and appliances is adjacent to the dining room. Rollins and Detective Sonny Carisi notice the bandage on Shawna's right wrist.

Shawna rubs the bandage. She still has memories of when she first saw that picture. First she felt disbelief, and then sadness. She felt humiliation and shame at the implication of what had been done to her, the idea that the most intimate part of her body was invaded.

"We have news about your case. We are able to narrow down when that picture was taken," says Rollins. "It was posted online as early as February 26th."

"That long ago? How would you catch the guy? How would you even know if I was raped. His DNA would be long gone by now."

"There are other ways of finding out what happened. Did you go out to any parties between, say, January 1st and February 26th?

"There was a New Year's Eve party, of course, at Tyisha's place. I know there was a mixer for the gymnastics team at a community center. And let me think- a house party on Manhattan Island on Valentine's Day."

"We'll need addresses," says Rollins.

"I know the address for the New Year's Eve party and the mixer, but not the Valentine's Day Party. I do remember the house."

"If you know the street at least, we can take you for a ride. Can you spare an hour or so?"

Oooooo

"There was a party here on Valentine's Day," says the girl. "I've nothing more to say."

After Shawna showed Detectives Amanda Rollins and Sonny Carisi the houses where the Valentine's Day party could have taken place, they dropped the girl off at her home and then returned here to question the residence about any house parties. The girl, Mandy, answered the door to this house.

"Listen, we don't care if you had alcohol and marijuana at your place," says Detective Carisi. "we're Special Victims Unit, not Vice Squad."

"Special Victims?"

"You know, sex crimes."

"None of that sort of thing was at the party!" exclaims the teenage girl, clearly disturbed by the implication.

"Did you see this girl?" asks Rollins, showing Mandy a picture of Shawna.

"Can't say that I have," replies Mandy. "There were lots of people here."

"Any of these others?" Rollins shows Mandy some more pictures.

"I remember seeing her." She takes a look at some pictures. "Her too."

A few minutes later, the two detectives walk back to the Crown Victoria parked on the street.

"She recognized Aubrie and Kendl," says Rollins.

Ooooooooo

"Yes, this is Kendl," says the voice on the phone.

"This is Detective Rollins, NYPD. Do you have a minute?"

"What's this about?" asks the girl.

"Did you attend a Valentine's Day Party on Manhattan Island this year?"

"Why would you want to know?"

"It's about Shawna," answers Rollins. "She may have been assaulted there."

Ooooooooo

YATES RESIDENCE

"Lieutenant Benson, I wasn't expecting you to come over to my place for dinner uninvited," says Alvin Yates. "Raf has told me good things about you. We do have a position open for an investigator at the D.A.'s office, if you are ready to retire from the NYPD."

"I'm here to talk to your daughter about a case, Mr. Yates," answers Olivia Benson. "Can she and us talk outside at the balcony?"

"Okay," replies Yates. "Desiree," he calls out. "Meet me out in the balcony.

Less than a minute later, the three of them are outside on the balcony. The sun had just set, and the lights inside the skyscrapers on Manhattan Island are lit.

"Any news on Shawna?" asks Desiree Yates.

"We heard she was at a party on Valentine's Day on Manhattan Island. Do you recognize her?"

Desiree sees a picture of a fair-skinned girl with light brown hair. "She lived at the house? Was that where Shawna was…raped?"

"So you were there."

"Yes," answers Desiree. "My parents know I went there. But..she couldn't have been raped there. The girls' parents were there to make sure no one had sex. And Shawna and I and all of us made it back to Roosevelt by curfew."

"I remember," says Mr. Yates. "She made it home on time that night. And the Cowells definitely did not call us asking where Shawna was, so she must have made it home on time as well."

"How long were you there?" asks Benson.

"From maybe five until ten," says Desiree.

"and you were with Shawna at the house the whole time?"

"Well, no. But there were parents there. There was no way she was raped that night."

"Did you notice any boys trying to hook up with Shawna?"

"There were a couple of boys at the party talking to us, as well as some girls. But I didn't think she or I were in danger."

"Thank you, Miss Yates," says Benson. "Give me a call if you know anything."

Ooooooo

SPECIAL VICTIMS UNIT SQUAD ROOM

16TH PRECINCT

NEW YORK CITY POLICE DEPARTMENT

THURSDAY, APRIL 20.

"Mr. Sciuto came up with some great news on the Cowell case," says Sergeant Tutuola. "The account used to post that picture of Shawna on February 26th was linked to a telephone number on a cell phone account on Roosevelt Island."

"This is great news," says Lieutenant Benson.

"Rollins, Carisi, let's reel him in."

Oooooooo

JIMMY C'S BURGERS AND SANDWICHES

ROOSEVELT ISLAND, MANHATTAN

Detectives Rollins and Carisi step out of rthe Ford Crown Victoria. Their lead had led them to a burger place called Jimmy C's Burgers and Sandwiches on Roosevelt Island. It is basically a stand. It has four order windows, and a menu advertises hamburgers, hot dogs, French fries, various types of sandwiches and side orders, and Pepsi and Sierra Mist. Circular tables surround the hamburger stand, topped with umbrellas to provide shelter from the sun.

The two SVU detectives recognize Shawna, as well as Desiree, Tyisha, and Kendl. Others girls and boys are sitting with them. Sandwiches and fries and salads and onion rings rest inside cardboard containers sitting on the table.

"What's going on?" asks Shawna. "Any news on my case?"

"Oh, we have news all right," says Amanda Rollins. She looks at a teenage boy with fair skin and blond hair. "Matt Strahm, you are under arrest for distribution of child pornography. You have the right to remain silent. You have the right to an attorney. If you can not afford an attorney, one will be provided for you. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law.

Rollins cuffs the boy.

"It was you!" yells Shawna.


	4. Chapter 4

JUST OUTSIDE ROOSEVELT ISLAND GARDEN CLUB

ROOSEVELT ISLAND, MANHATTAN

"I'm sure Matt didn't do this," says Kendl, walking along the grass between Main Street and the southeast shore of Roosevelt Island, across the street from Roosevelt Island Garden Club. "I mean, we all knew each other for four years."

"He was at that Valentine's Day Party with the rest of us," replies Shawna Cowell.

"We were there with you," says Tyisha. "We were watching each other, making sure nobody put that date rape drug thing in our drinks."

"How is your wrist?" asks Desiree Yates.

Shawna looks at her bandaged right wrist. "It's better," she says.

The teenage girl is still processing confused feelings. That a boy who is a classmate, whom she considers a friend, could post such pictures of her, or even rape her, it is just so much to take.

She looks across the East River, towards Rainey Park in the Astoria neighborhood of Queens.

"I was with Matt most of the time," says Kendl. "I'm sure the police made some kind of mistake." She hold Shawna's right hand. "I'll talk to the police about the party."

Ooooooooooo

INTERROGATION ROOM

16TH PRECINCT

NEW YORK POLICE DEPARTMENT

MANHATTAN, NEW YORK

Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Rafael Barba walks towards the interrogation room in the 16th Precinct of the New York City Police Department. He has become familiar with the place in the past few years, as he worked closely with the Special Victims Unit. He recalls the many cases, and the many controversies.

He looks at Matt Strahm, arrested for possession and distribution of child pornography, and a suspect in a possible rape.

Inside, Matt is feeling nervous. He looks at the two detectives in the room with him- a blond-haired woman and a light-haired man, both in business wear, both in their late thirties.

"I know I don't have to talk until I get to talk with my lawyer first," says Matt.

"So you do pay attention in civics class," says Detective Sonny Carisi. "We might as well then talk to you- no questions- so you will have an idea of what to say to your lawyer."

"Uh, thank you?"

Detective Amanda Rollins throws down a picture. "ShawnBeDead," she says. "A hashtag currently trending on social media like InstaGram and Twitter. This naked picture of Shawna Cowell was posted on Twitter. That account in that screenshot was traced to your phone. It's an anonymous profile; you have your own personal profile with a picture of you and Kendl. You posted the picture, with hashtags ShawnBeDead and BustedCherry and VirginNoMore. And then hundreds of others reposted and retweeted.

"We know that you went to a party on Valentine's Day with Kendl and some friends, including Shawna. So we are beginning to guess what happened. You had some roofies. You put roofies in Shawna's drink. You took her to a room somewhere in that house. You raped her, took pictures, and then posted it online."

Fists slam the table. "I'm not a raper!" yells Matt.

"So you are just a child pornographer," says Carisi.

"You're not supposed to question me."

"Neither of us asked you a single question. Since you chose to exercise your constitutionally-guaranteed rights, we are forced to speculate. Right now, given what we know, we speculate that you raped Shawna, took pictures of the rape, and humiliated her by posting the pictures on social media. Once your lawyer gets here, we will charge you with rape."

"There's not enough evidence for a rape," Barba says to Lieutenant Olivia Benson just outside the interrogation room. "If there was evidence, I'd try him as an adult- the anonymous account would suggest premeditation and awareness of his wrongdoing- but if all we have is the kiddie porn charge, my boss will probably assign it to juvenile division."

"We can hold him until tomorrow morning," says Benson.

Less than an hour later, two women appears- one in her late forties with blond hair, and another woman, maybe ten years younger, with chestnut-brown hair, clad in a professional gray outfit.

"She is my son's lawyer," says the blond-haired woman.

"Mom," says Matt.

"Did you say anything to the cops?"

"No, they did all the talking."

"I'm going to need to talk with my client in private," says the brown-haired woman.

"Then may I put you up to speed," says Barba, introducing himself. "Your son had naked pictures of his classmate- without her permission- and posted it on social media. Now, if that was all he did, I can make sure the case is handled by juvenile decision. But he's also suspected of rape. That will mean I will try him as an adult. So, if you can convince me that he did not rape Shawna Cowell, then we can let the juvenile system handle this."

Matt goes to a side room and speaks with his lawyer as Barba, Matt's mother, and the detectives wait.

Matt and his lawyer goes out.

"He's willing to talk," says the defense attorney. "He'll tell you where he got the pictures."

"Okay," says Detective Rollins. "Where did you get those pictures?"

About fifteen minutes later, Kendl enters the squad room. She had taken the Tramway and the train to get to the 16th Precinct. She sees Matt.

"Kendl?" calls out Matt.

"Are you okay, Matt?" asks Kendl.

"Uh yeah."

Kendl recognizes Rollins and Carisi. "Matt didn't rape Shawna," says the teenage girl. "I know, I was at the party with him. I wasn't even apart from him from a minute. After that, we all went home. I can't say if anything happened to Shawna at the party, but Matt couldn't have had anything to do with it."

"I'm inclined to believe you," says Rollins. "Kendl Reed, you are under arrest for possession and distribution of child pornography. You have the right to remain silent. You have the right to an attorney. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. If you can not afford an attorney, one will be provided for you."

"You told them?"Kendl asks him, her voice radiating anger. "How could you?"

Ooooooooooo

"The techies confirmed it," says Sergeant Odafin Tutuola. "Shawna's picture is on Kendl's phone, and it was saved on her phone before Matt received it and posted it online."

"This brings more questions," says Rollins. "Kendl could have drugged Shawna, stripped her, taken pictures, but nothing else.

"Or Matt could have raped her, with Kendl taking the pictures," says Carisi.

"They haven't found any pictures of Matt or anyone else actually raping Shawna," says Fin. "They're trying to recover the deleted data to find out if there are more incriminating pictures."

"Was this some stupid prank or an actual rape?" asks Barba. He sips a cup of coffee. "I think we should let Miss Reed sleep on this."

Ooooooooo

SPECIAL VICTIMS UNIT SQUAD ROOM

16TH PRECINCT

NEW YORK POLICE DEPARTMENT

MANHATTAN, NEW YORK

FRIDAY, APRIL 21

Kendl enters the squad room alongside her attorney. She had a sleepless night in lockup. The detectives recognize the attorney, who looks like he could be a stand-in for Patrick Dempsey of _Grey's Anatomy._

"Does Miss Reed have anything useful?" asks Rafael Barba.

"Yes," replies her defense attorney. "She says how it went down, and admits to her role in this incident. In exchange, no confinement."

"What will you say?" Barba asks the teenage girl.

Ooooooooo

"We'll investigate," says the assistant district attorney after Kendl gave her statement. "If it pans out, then we can deliver."

"We have enough for a warrant," says Lieutenant Benson after Kendl and her lawyer leave.

"We only have the word of a girl who was caught sharing naked pictures of her teammate," replies Barba. " A competent defense attorney could skewer her on the stand. For all we know, she could have taken pictures of Matt raping Shawna."

"Are you doing this to point out any holes in our case?" asks the lieutenant. "Or just running interference for your boss's daughter?"

"How dare you say that!" exclaims Barba.

"We have enough for a warrant. I will go to court and request the warrant."

Oooo

HELPING HANDS NURSING HOME

ASTORIA, QUEENS

"Here you go, Dolores," says Desiree Yates, pushing the wheelchair down the hallway.

The teenage girl is familiar with the layout of the Helping Hands Nursing Home since she was eight years old. She had Thanksgiving dinners here with fully disabled persons and their families. She had volunteered here since she was thirteen, getting to know the nurses and staff.

Helping Hands is a nursing home for the totally disabled, having been open for at least forty years. It is kept running by various donations and dedicated volunteers, orderlies, and nurses.

For Desiree, it is almost like a getaway from the stress and pressure of studying and gymnastics.

She passes a teenage boy pushing a man in a wheelchair. Her attention is one the boy, who is new here and rather cute.

She then notices two women standing in the hallway, near the front lobby. One of them is in her early thirties, named Shelly, wearing a blue nurses' outfit. She is a nurse in charge of supervising volunteers like Desiree.

The other woman, with short dark brown hair, a gray business outfit, and appearing to be in her late forties, is New York Police Detective Lieutenant Olivia Benson.

"Where are you taking Dolores?" asks Shelly.

"To the community room," answers the teenage girl. "They are showing that movie, _X-Men: Apocalypse_."

"I'll take her," says Shelly, holding the handles of Dolores's wheelchair, pushing it along a hallway leading away from the main lobby.

"Is this about Shawna and Matt?" asks Desiree. "Kendl was supposed to see you and tell you Matt's innocent."

Benson shows Desiree a pair of handcuffs. The girl steps back.

"You know better than to run," says the lieutenant.


	5. Chapter 5

SPECIAL VICTIMS UNIT SQUAD ROOM

16TH PRECINCT

NEW YORK POLICE DEPARTMENT

MANHATTAN, NEW YORK

Two men enter the SVU squad room, both of them familiar to the detectives, both dressed in suits. One of them is a dark-haired man with a big nose, appearing to be in his early fifties. The detectives recognize him as Neil Rothman, a criminal defense attorney who had cross-examined them a few times over the past ten years or so. The other man, a bald, dark-skinned man riding in a motorized wheelchair, is Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Yates.

"Mr. Yates," says Lieutenant Olivia Benson.

"I'm not here as the district attorney," says Yates. "I am here as the father of a girl you arrested."

The two men enter the interrogation room.

"Daddy," says Desiree Yates.

"This is Neil Rothman, your attorney," replies her father. "You have much to talk about."

About two hours later, the two men leave the precinct with Desiree Yates.

"Listen," says Alvin Yates, pushing the joystick on his wheelchair with his left hand, "do not talk about this case to anyone, not your friends, not even me. All communication about this case should be done in Mr. Rothman's presence."

"And he's a good lawyer?" asks Desiree, walking on the sidewalk.

"In my twenty years as a federal prosecutor, he was the only defense attorney who actually defeated me at trial."

"Are you feeling jealous about it?" asks Neil Rothman.

"Maybe a little," replies Desiree's father.

"Don't feel jealous about my client. His reputation's still in ruins, he still has trouble paying off that fifty million dollar civil judgment…"

Ooooooooooo

OFFICE OF DISTRICT ATTORNEY ALVIN YATES

Late that afternoon, District Attorney Alvin Yates sits behind the wooden desk in the office that he had become familiar with over the past few years since taking the oath of office. The office had chairs for visitors and bookcases full of legal tomes containing copies of federal, state, and municipal statutes, as well as opinions from state and federal courts.

A dark-haired man in a gray suit with a vest walks in. Yates recognizes him as Assistant District Attorney Rafael Barba. He briefly recalls details about Barba's career- a Harvard graduate, worked in the Brooklyn D.A.'s office before being hired as a sex crimes prosecutor in this office.

"I was updated about the situation regarding your daughter by Lieutenant Benson," says Barba. "I promise that I will conduct myself to my utmost professional on this case."

"This office will have no involvement in prosecuting this case," replies the district attorney. "I spoke with the Attorney General. The case is being moved to the jurisdiction of the Attorney General's office."

"Attorney General? Unusual for them to prosecute a juvenile case."

"It's unusual for a juvenile case to involve the daughter of a sitting district attorney. In any event, this office will be turning over any documents requested by the Attorney General's office- and the defense attorneys. "

"I'll inform Benson about this."

Ooooooooooo

SPECIAL VICTIMS UNIT SQUAD ROOM

16TH PRECINCT

NEW YORK POLICE DEPARTMENT

MANHATTAN, NEW YORK

MONDAY, APRIL 24

A man in a suit walks into the Squad room. "Is a Lieutenant Olivia Benson here?" he asks.

"That's me," replies Benson. She looks at the man. He has dark hair, slanted eyes, and amber-complected skin.

"Brian Wong, Deputy Attorney General," he says, extending his hand. The lieutenant shakes it. "I'm prosecuting the Shawna Cowell case."

"You have experience with juvenile cases?"

"I worked juvie cases twelve years ago, under then-D.A. Branch, before I got a job at the attorney general's office. That's why I'm doing this even though I'm a Deputy Attorney General."

"Welcome to the Special Victims Unit."

Lieutenant Benson introduces the deputy attorney general to the other detectives of the squad.

"I am fully aware about the conflict of interest that the Manhattan D.A. has in this case," says Wong. "Can we summarize?"

Detective Sergeant Odafin Tutuola provides the summary, from Shawna Cowell's suicide attempt to the naked pictures of her going viral on social media to the electronic trail discovered by Paul Sciuto and his team to the admissions by Matt Strahm and Kendl Reed to certain details of those admissions being corroborating by some witnesses such as Natalie Stovic.

"We have a solid case for distributing kiddie porn," says Wong. "Was there a rape?"

"There is no evidence that Shawna was raped," answers Benson.

"I can get these girls on the kiddie porn charges," says Wong. "I would like more details. Who came up with the plan? Who got the roofies?"

Ooooooooo

HNT STUDIOS

1311 6TH AVENUE

MANHATTAN, NEW YORK

MONDAY, MAY 1

Shawna Cowell enters the studio, clad in a simple blouse and skirt. Her family watches her. She feels nervous. The previous month was an emotional roller coaster for her. To hear that her friends, friends withwhom she went to school with, practiced gymnastics, could do this, betray her, feels as if the wound on her wirst were ripped wide open.

She looks at the daerk haired woman in a gray outfit.

"Hello, Shawna," says Margery Evans, the morning host.

"Hi," replies the teenage girl.

"How are you doing?" asks the morning show host.

"I still feel some confusion."

"So tell our viewers what happened," says Evans.

"The Friday before Easter, I was sent this picture," replies Shawna. " It was of me, taken naked. I could hardly believe it. I was wondering if it was photoshopped. And then I realized it was real, and I might have been raped. I felt so dirty, like all value was taken from me. On Easter Sunday, I slit my wrist in an attempt to end my life. My momma found me fast enough that I got to the hospital before I bled to death.

Oooo

JUVENILE COURT

HEARING, PART 3

TUESDAY, MAY 2

"And you went forward on TV because," says Deputy Attorney General Brian Wong.

"Because my picture was already out there," replies Shawna, now clad in business-style clothing. "Millions of people already saw me naked. I can't stay anonymous. So I will rise above it. It is those girls who should be ashamed"- she glances at the three girls- Aubrie Heller, Tyisha Millard, and Desiree Yates- - "not me."

"No further questions," replies Wong.

Neil Rothman stands up to look at the witness. "Do you remember having that picture taken?" asks the defense attorney.

"No," replies the girl. "I was drugged."

"Do you remember when you were drugged?"

"I heard it was at that mixer."

"Objection, your Honor," says Rothman. "Hearsay."

"Sustained," says the juvenile court judge, an elderly bespectacled man with white hair.

"You can't remember being drugged, or who drugged you."

"Kendl Reed was involved."

"Objection."

"May I remind this court that Kendl Reed admitted her involvement in the drugging and photographing of Shawna Cowell," says Wong.

"Overruled," says the judge.

"And you can not testify that you were raped."

"No, I can not," replies the teenage girl.

Oooooooo

"Mr. Barba," says Deputy Attorney General Brian Wong, sitting at a wooden table while having a cocktail in a high class bar in Manhattan. "How's the D.A.'s office?"

"Things are going well, Mr. Wong," replies Assistant District Attorney Rafael Barba. "I'm not allowed to discuss the case. Any documentation you need from the D.A.'s office has to be made via a formal request."

The bar is not crowded as it is late Tuesday afternoon. A few people are in here, many of them wel-dressed. Cocktail servers in black blouses and skirts carry trays of drinks. Bartenders fill glasses of beers from the many taps.

"I did hear stories about SVU when I worked at the D.A.'s office. This A.D.A, Casey Novak, prosecuted a few of the cases from that unit."

"And how was your experience handling juvenile cases?"

"Most of it was minor delinquent stuff like truancy, drugs, a fistfight over a girl. I even handled a few manslaughter cases. It was around the tuime I left the D.A.'s when sexting started to take off. Young kids posted explicit pictures of themselves, unaware that some creep might find them and enjoy them."

"when I started, pedophiles had to use a laptop to get and share images. Now they can get images on their phone."

"Here's to technology," says Wong, raising his drink.

"To technology,." replies Barba. "Still, I've handled cases where girls committed sex crimes. I heard about this case that happened before I joined the Manhattan D.A., before my boss took office, some girls at this elite private high school held down another girl so this creep could rape her."

"To mean girls."

Oooooooooo

Shawna is at home, in the very same bedroom where she tried to kill herself on Easter sunbday. . She still reflects on the testimony that she gave in juvenile court. It was emotionally harrowing, especially as she knew those girls for years. She still feels the residue of terrible, confused feelings.

She then looks at her iPhone. She had gotten a lot of support from many people after she went public about what had happened to her. Some of the people who gave her support stated that thery had been raped.

She sees one post. She reads that it is from some gangsta rapper named Shawn, from a town called Compton in California.

 _I saw your story on TV. I am still shocked about the origin of #ShawnBeDead. You are brave. I can nor imagining doing what you did. Stay strong; you inspire us._

Shawna smiles, feeling some relief.

 _Thank you,_ she responds.


	6. Chapter 6

JUVENILE COURT

HEARING, PART 4

THURSDAY, MAY 4

"State your name for the record," says Deputy Attorney General Brian Wong.

"Kendl Reed," says the teenage girl sitting in the witness stand.

"Do you know Shawna Cowell?"

"Yes."

"How did you know Miss Cowell?"

"I met her when I was practicing gymnastics eight years ago, and I went to school with her."

"And do you know these three girls who are charged with delinquency?'

"Yes, I know them from school. We're all on the gymnastics teams."

"May the record show that the witness, Kendl Reed, is referring to Aubrie Heller, Tyisha Millard, and Desiree Yates?"

"The record may reflect that," says the judge.

"Explain the events leading to the events of February 17th," says Wong.

"Shawn always made a big deal about staying a virgin until marriage," answers Kendl. She even had one of those purity balls on her sixteenth birthday."

"Purity balls?"

"it was like a big party where she promised her stepdad that she would not have sex. Antyway, we came up with this plan."

"You and the four girls before this hearing, right?"

"There was this mixer for the gymnasts Friday evening. There was punch served. We spiked her punch with roofies. When she was out of it, we led her to this back room in the school. We undressed her bottom, we put fake blood and semen on her thighs, and took pictures. We made it look like she had sex."

"And where did you get the roofies?"

"Well, there is this guy named Slick Willy, who sells stuff to some of the students at school. I wasn;'t the one who got the roofies, though."

"I introduce People's Exhibit A, " says Wong. "You took this picture on your phone."

"Yes."

"And you sent it to your boyfriend Matt Strahm, right?"

"Yes."

"and you used an anonymous account."

"We all used anonymous accounts."

"Read the hashtags for the court, please."

"ShawnaIsDead. PoppedCherry VirginNoMore NoLongerPure."

"And so you admitted to taking naked pictures of Shawna, without consent, and sharing these pictures with others."

Kendl looks down. "Yes."

"And all four girls were with you when you all took her picture, is that right, Miss Reed?"

"Yes, sir."

"I have no further questions," says the deputy attorney general.

"Your witness," says the judge.

Neil Rothman, lawyer for Desiree Yates, stands up. "So, Miss Reed, to refresh the memory of all of us here, you took naked pictures of your friend Shawna without her consent," he says.

"Yes."

"And you blame these three girls."

"They are to blame just like me."

"What were the circumstances of your arrest by the NYPD regarding this case?"

"I was arrested when I went to the police station," answers Kendl.

"So you are saying that you went to the police station before you were arrested?" asks the lawyer.

"Yes."

"Why were you there, Miss Reed."

"The police arrested my boyfriend Matt because they thought he raped Shawna at a Valentine's Day Party. I told them that I was with him the whole time."

"And when you were arrested, you yelled at Matt for snitching on you, right?"

"Yes," replies Kendl, looking downward.

"Miss Reed, what was the disposition of the charges against you?" asks Rothman.

"I plead as a delinquent," replies the girl. "I have one hundred hours of community service; I have ninety-four more hours to go."

"Is it true, Miss Reed, that you were remanded to the custody of your family?"

"Yes. I still live at home."

"And did you have to do anything in return to avoid detention in a juvenile facility?"

"I had to admit in full what I did."

"And that included implicating these girls here in court?"

"Because they participated."

"And you pointed the finger at them just as Matt pointed the finger at you."

"I told the truth. That was all. As I said, I am to blame, just like they are."

"And yet you avoided detention. Avoiding juvenile detention must have been quite a deal for you, in exchange for telling the prosecution a story."

"I'm telling the truth."

"And yet you did not come forward, not even after Shawna tried to kill herself because she thought she was raped. In fact, you pretended to be her friend. Pretended, while you knew what you did to hert? How does that make you feel?"

"Listen, I'm sorry," pleads Kendl.

"Or maybe you took pictures of Matt raping her, and you decided to hide that fact by blaming your friends here."

"Shawna wasn't raped! We were all there. We just took her clothes off and took pictures. There was no rape. What we did was wrong; there was no rape!"

"No further questions," says Rothman.

Deputy Attorney General Wong has an idea.

Oooooooo

CONFERENCE ROOM

OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL

MANHATTAN BRANCH

120 BROADWAY

MANHATTAN, NEW YORK

"Why is Miss Reed here?" asks the lawyer, sitting at the wooden table with Kendl Reed inside a conference room at the Manhattan Branch of the New York Attorney General. "She already testified at the hearing."

"Miss Reed mentioned a man who sold the girls roofies," says Deputy Attorney General Brian Wong,. "The deal entails Miss Reed providing all information in relation to this case. She can be remanded to juvenile detention if she refuses to cooperate."

Detective Lieutenant Olivia Benson opens a scrapbook. "Miss Reed, can you tell us which of these men would have sold roofies to you?" she asks, turning the pages.

Kendl looks at the mug shots of various men.

Ooooooooooo

JIMMY C'S BURGERS AND SANDWICHES

ROOSEVELT ISLAND, MANHATTAN

FRIDAY, MAY 5

Detectives Amanda Rollins and Sonny Carisi are back at Jimmy C's in Roosevelt Island. Several people are there, eating burgers or other types of sandwiches. They glance at the photographs that they are carrying, and then at the crowd.

They see two males standing a few feet from one of the tables. The two detectivesd recognize one of them as Matthew Strahm. The other one, a dark-skinned man wearing a knit cap, is the man Kendl Reed had identified as Slick Willy.

"Slick Willy?" asks Carisi.

"Yeah," replies the man in the knit cap.

"NYPD. You're under arrest for suspicion of distribution of roofies."

Carisi handcuffs the man. Something falls out of Slick Willy's coat pocket.

"Looks like cocaine," says Rollins, picking up a plastic bag filled with white powder.

"He's a drug dealer?' asks Matt. "I … I never knew."

"Kid, the less you say, the better," says Detective Carisi.

Ooooooooooo

"So you're the Special Victims Unit," says Slick Willy, sitting in the interrogation room. "Ther unit that deals with baby rapers?"

"Among other things," replies Carisi.

"Do I look like a baby raper to you? Look, I'm just a humble businessman. I just give people what they want in exchange for money"

"We know you're a seasoned criminal," says Rollins. "You asked for your lawyer the minute we arrested you. Now, in February you sold roofies to a girl who used it to drug another girl and take naked pictures of her."

"I heard about that," says Slick Willy.

"We'll show you pictures."

Slick Willy looks at some pictures of girls. "I know her. She was the one I sold roofies to back then."

"You memorize that from that many months ago?

"Yeah, I even keep notes. I have to know who my customers are in case one of them narcs on me.

Oooooooooo

INTERROGATION ROOM

16TH PRECINCT

NEW YORK POLICE DEPARTMENT

MANHATTAN, NEW YORK

"Why are we are?" asks Neil Rothman, sitting with his client, Desiree Yates.

"We've come across some new evidence regarding your client's involvement in taking those pictures of Shawna Cowell," says Deputy Attorney General Brian Wong.

"Tell us," says Alvin Yates, sitting in his wheelchair.

"Based on a lead from Kendl Reed's testimony," says Detective Lieutenant Olivia Benson, "we arrested a drug dealer who goes by the alias Slick Willy. He identified Desiree Yates as the one who purchased the roofies from him. He even kept records."

The deputy attorney general hands Rothman a folder. "We can e-mail you PDF's if you prefer," he says.

"You're going to believe the testimony of some two-bit drug dealer!" exclaims Desiree, standing up.

"Desiree, you should let me do the talking," replies her lawyer.

Just outside the interrogation room, Shawna Cowell silently watches, looking at the girl who had been her friend for eight years, with whom she practiced gymnastics.

"I've looked at the evidence," says Wong. "I am leaning towards believing the two-bit drug dealer."

Desiree looks at her father, her eyes becoming clouded with tears. "Why are these people…picking on me?" she cries. "That picture was supposed to be a private joke among us! I mean, look at what's been happening to me! I was kicked off the gymnastics team, I'm no longer welcome at the nursing center, I might be expelled from school! Can't you just make this go away?"

"You," replies Alvin Yates. "This isn't about you. Shawna Cowell almost killed herself because of those pictures. She was shamed and humiliated all over the world. If she had died, you may have been facing a murder charge."

"Daddy,I…"

"There will be severe consequences for your actions. How you deal with those consequences will determine what kind of woman you will be. What kind of woman will you grow up to be?"


End file.
